The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland Colelction: Nosferatu (1922)

What film took up the mantle of German Expressionism after The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and ran with the opportunity? Director F.W. Murnau went and took an iconic story that (at that time) was a phenomenon. When Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, he created a legacy of gothic horror and the prototype for all vampire tales to come. This seems like a story that would be ripe for the big screen and done in the dark and haunting approach of German Expressionism. The eerie setting would be perfect for such a haunting figure as Count Dracula. Not even copyrighting could stop Murnau from creating the first great adaptation of Stoker’s work. That is…Nosferatu. 

Why is Nosferatu subtitled A Symphony of Horror? This film is a great trendsetter for horror filmmaking for the next century. The visuals that Murnau could create were intriguing, fresh, and haunting. You might not feel that same way in 2024 but just imagine being in a theater in 1922. There is an atmosphere that Murnau creates that is chilling and unnerving. The foreign feel of the landscape triggers a feeling of the unknown and a foreign fear (for better or worse). Count Orlok (totally not Dracula, right?) is a powerful being hidden away in the high mountains of Transylvania and tucked away in his foreboding castle. There are few settings and locales from horror that don’t draw inspiration from this setting in Nosferatu. Even the home that Orlok finds in Wisborg is something out of horror film nightmares. But this was the film that se that standard. 

How did Murnau set a new expectation and standard for the horror genre moving forward? The use of shadows is one of the most significant approaches that Murnau can ratchet up the tension. The silhouette of Orlok is enough to spark fear in the audience. The fear that a simple shadow can cause as it lurks and smothers a plain scene in something foreboding and ominous is quite effective. The lurking shadow full of unnatural pointed digits is unnerving. If you watch the first teaser for Robert Eggers’ remake of Nosferatu, you will find the influence with the giant shadow clawed hand that creeps over the city. Eggers understands the fear that a simple shade can cause. Murnau also utilizes unnatural speed and jumping in editing which craft unnerving visuals on screen. They are unnatural and feel like they should not be able to happen. Anything that feels unnatural will cause a reaction with the audience. This is a seemingly simple but wholly effective way to balance multiple stories and threads. 

What is the most influential and impactful element of Murnau’s Nosferatu? Count Orlok himself. Max Schreck is a revelation in this earlier horror role. The idea of a make-up focused antagonistic monster became a staple of early cinema and was certainly present at this time (years before Universal found the perfect system). The make-up for Orlok is out of this world. The rat-inspired get-up is something fresh and different for the evolution of vampires in media. When you look at a vampire that is more animal (especially like a rat), you are showing a fresh and reworked idea that is worth exploring. His claws are enormous and frightening and the bald dome with pointed up ears feels so unnerving to see on a humanoid on two feet. Some of the most iconic images of horror come from this film. Orlok slowly walks into frame for the first time as he is framed in the pointed doorway. His eerie walk around the edge of the haul on the Demeter.  The medium distance shot of Orlok looking over his shoulder provides the most detailed look at this design. We have seen plenty of vampires since done in this style including in What We Do in the Shadows and Salem’s Lot. This design of Orlok was so influential that Werner Herzog made a remake himself and Shadow of the Vampire was created in its strange meta-horror/comedy glory.

In summation, why is Nosferatu so important to the history of cinema? Horror would not be what it is without its guidance and influence. Modern horror pulls so much from Murnau’s filmmaking and one of the most popular subgenres of horror just so happens to be vampire in nature. The obsession with vampires in visual media all started here and it is still thriving in ways that are unexpected. For a film ruled to be destroyed because of copyright infringement, the world is lucky that a few prints persevered so we could still experience this all-time classic horror film. Horror is what it is today because of Nosferatu in so many ways.